Cyber bullying in the workplace is on the rise: What measures can we adopt to protect our staff?

Bullying has long been a problem in workplaces, albeit most prevalent in the office environment. Across a wide range of behaviours, examples could be cliques of co-workers going to lunch and leaving others behind or an intimidating boss publicly castigating an employee to embarrass them.

Relief from the office bully, initially afforded by remote work, was short-lived, and there is increasing evidence that remote and hybrid work, coupled with technology, has enabled new ways to display unkind behaviour. While it’s not a new phenomenon – data indicates it was an emerging issue even before the pandemic and the switch to hybrid and remote work – it is escalating.

In 2020, a study in the United Kingdom found that 10 per cent of workers reported being bullied by email, phone or social media platforms. By July 2022, the number of UK cyber bullying claims lodged with the Employment Tribunal had set a new annual record.

In the United States, a 2021 survey reported 43 per cent of remote workers had been subject to workplace bullying. In Australia, figures are hard to come by, but as far back as 2015, it was reported that our public sector was rife with it (72 per cent), and it’s estimated today that workplace cyber bullying is costing businesses up to $36 million nationally, every year.

The blurring of lines between our professional and personal lives by technology has afforded workplace bullies more ways to humiliate, undermine and distress the person being targeted. Some of the more commonly reported incidents in the UK are disparaging remarks during video meets, leaving colleagues out of group meetings, and using peripheral apps to gossip during online presentations.

This fluidity between work and home also presents a challenge for business leaders and employers to tackle bullying behaviour. The law is still catching up in this area, so while reporting it to the police or authorities is recommended, employers and organisations should also be active in preventing and discouraging this behaviour by any employee, regardless if they are using personal devices or computers.

Some of the ways that employers can minimise and oversee these behaviours are: 

• Promote a zero tolerance of harassment, discrimination and bullying and an open culture of respect with policies to back it up.
• Hold every individual accountable to the zero-tolerance policy, enabling transparency and trust. If individuals experience it, they should report it, even if it’s coming from a superior. Set expectations and boundaries that everyone recognises and respects.
• Act and address incidents immediately to demonstrate safety for victims and repercussions for perpetrators, including minor incidents, to deflect escalation.
• Create and stick to clear remote work boundaries and policies for after-hours communications for everyone.
• Create policies with recommendations, such as keeping screenshots and documenting evidence – it’s the one upside of online bullying versus face-to-face; the evidence is there in black and white.
• Engage in regular feedback forums or one-on-ones with team members to establish rapport. Creating psychological safety is a great way to identify what’s working, while also revealing any underlying issues or toxic culture.
• Ensure new staff onboarding covers policies and training on cyber bullying expectations and requirements.
• Understand that a positive work culture requires continuous attention and focus, and should always be a work in progress.

Open culture, with clear boundaries, expectations and policies, leaves bullies and their toxic behaviour nowhere to hide.

The hybrid and remote nature of our work today increases the risk of serious mental and psychological danger to victims; as the work/home life lines are blurred, there’s no respite for the victim. It can become an incessant stressor, inhibiting the recipients’ time to unwind and regroup, or restore their coping mechanisms. It can become a vicious cycle.

Workplace leaders and managers should assume cyber bullying to be just as damaging to their business and employees as adverse face-to-face behaviour is in the office setting. The new landscape of ghosting co-workers or deliberately targeting people outside of hours and not respecting boundaries and personal time can quickly deplete morale.

Remote employees need to be assured that they can speak up, report it, and provide evidence. However, with an open culture where everyone is educated in kindness and respect, and with policies and boundaries in place that all individuals are accountable for, there should be little requirement for reporting processes, but staff should feel confident about the process, should they ever need it.

Parvinder Walia is the Asia-Pacific and Japan president of ESET.